HOBOKEN – Fourth Ward City Councilman Tim Occhipinti, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Dawn Zimmer and state Assemblyman Ruben Ramos in the upcoming November election, announced Thursday that he had resigned from his job as an analyst at a Manhattan asset management firm to focus full-time on his campaign.

"I am extremely committed to this election and I want the people of Hoboken to know that I am dedicated to them and will fight full time for their point of view," said Occhipinti in a statement. "I am going to live the next few months on a very tight budget which is something every taxpayer understands too well and wishes City Hall did the same.”

Occhipinti has worked for Alliance Bernstein as an Application Support Analyst since 2004, and handed in his letter of resignation two weeks ago. This Friday is set to be his last day.

When asked, a spokeswoman for the One Hoboken campaign said that Occhipinti has not worked out a deal with his former employer allowing him to rejoin the company should he lose the election. She referred to the move as “a leap of faith.”

According to a statement released by the One Hoboken ticket, which also includes Frank Raia, Peter Biancamano and Britney Montgomery-Cook for city council, Occhipinti feels that it’s crucial to “give his all to the people of Hoboken.”

The ticket is running on a platform of government accountability and reduced spending, as well as improved parking and ending the city’s longstanding flood problems – Dean DeChiaro

You mean the spokeswoman is the same former HR reporter who was working for Ramos a few weeks ago? Now that certainly would be a story!

Comparing taking a paid leave of absence to an actual permanent separation from employment is pretty silly. That said, I agree that the real reason Tim is leaving his job is the real story here - not the absurd spin put out by his campaign trying to turn a negative into a positive. Frankly, if Tim really quit his job voluntarily to devote his full time to a race that he has no realistic chance to win, that says volumes about his lack of judgment and is a pretty strong basis, by itself, of why he shouldn't be mayor.

Horsey has some coverage of what probably really happened here. Check it out at www.hobokenhorse.com.